1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an irradiation device for irradiating body parts of a patient with a carrier system, at least one light head, and a control element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Industrial applications of irradiation devices for irradiation of body parts of a patient are known from the art as so-called partial-body therapy units for the irradiation of hands, feet, or the chest, the back, breech, knee, or lower leg within the scope of so-called UV phototherapy. The known therapy units as a rule consist of an equipment carrier which designed as a trolley. Attached on the equipment carrier are light heads, so-called treatment heads, which in each case have a light source as well as ballasts for their control. The treatment heads are consequently very heavy and are therefore firmly bolted or statically locked with the equipment carrier as a rule. The treatment heads are normally aligned once during the assembly of the unit, by using special tools. With these units it is therefore not possible to adjust the treatment heads and/or the entire unit individually for the therapy of a single patient, and thus perform an ergonomic adaptation. The patient rather has to adapt to the irradiation device and must accordingly be positioned relative to the unit. This means that the patient must remain in an uncomfortable position for the entire time of the treatment, if necessary, which can sometimes last as long as several minutes.
Due to the firmly integrated treatment heads, the therapy unit can moreover not be adapted to different types of treatment, since it is not possible to align the treatment heads appropriately. While the emission surface for the irradiation of hands should be aligned as level as possible, the emission surface for facial treatment should essentially have a steep angle of inclination in order to be parallel to the face. A change in the alignment of the treatment heads is only possible by using corresponding tools and is also conditional upon sufficient pivotability of the treatment heads. Due to the required complexity, it can therefore not be individually adapted to the respective patient.
A further disadvantage results from the controls and control elements respectively integrated in the individual treatment heads as well as their decentralized configuration resulting therefrom, whereby the operation of the entire therapy unit becomes complicated. The consequence is that the user requires to have direct access to the respective treatment heads in order to operate it. Especially treatment heads that are arranged in a lower area of the therapy unit require that the user assumes a stooped posture in order to operate the unit. Where therapy units have a particular height and where treatment buttons are provided in this area, particularly shorter people have significant problems in operating these control elements as well as taking readings of corresponding displays. In addition, with therapy units known from prior art it is necessary that the user has to stand in front of the unit in order to operate it and to operate the control elements arranged on the treatment heads. It is therefore not possible to place the patient in front of the unit before it is operated. Any adjustments must have rather been completely finalized in advance.
Depending upon therapy, it may be required to replace the treatment heads and use with treatment heads that have a different light source, such as UV-A and UV-B light sources. With the known equipment as previously described, this would require using additional tools. Such replacement would moreover be possible only using significant force, because of the considerable weight of the treatment heads already mentioned previously.
Because each treatment head has its own control element and a control panel, in addition not just the operation of the individual control elements is inconvenient, but rather also a correspondingly higher number of individual control elements and/or operating elements is necessary, as a result of which a high amount of resources and expenditure is necessary.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved irradiation device for irradiating body parts of a patient with a carrier system, at least one light head, and a control element